Charlie Sullivan and the Monster Hunters: Council of the Hunters

by D. C. McGannon

  A snarl and the snap of teeth filled the air around Charlie’s head. Two red eyes stared into his mind from the darkness, and Charlie stumbled backward in terror. An angry growl lingered on the edge of his consciousness.

  It was just a vision. The Dark Prince remained locked in his prison, angry, restless.

  “You okay?” asked Lisa behind him.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Just didn’t expect to see this thing up here.”

  “And this.” She brushed some dust off of the old book that accompanied the mirror box. A horned wolf’s head emblem glowed faintly on the leather cover. The varcolac’s diary. She ran a finger over the metal dragon curled up on the spine, regarding it with disdain.

  Charlie coughed. “That’s it.”

  Lisa raised her eyebrows at him, expecting him to elaborate. “What’s it?”

  “The diary. That’s what we’re here for.”

  The room fell silent but for the tick-tock of the iron ball and some unseen skittering thing.

  “You’re kidding.”

  Liev scratched his head, as bewildered as Lisa. “Sis, I don’t know if Charlie knows how to tell a joke. Unless this is your attempt at it, man. In which case, totally not funny.”

  “Guys, I’m serious.”

  Lisa raised the book to head level, swinging it around dangerously. “Charlie, what were you thinking? You know how dangerous this thing is! What was I thinking? This was a horrible idea, we shouldn’t have—”

  “Okay, what better idea did you have?” Charlie shot back.

  “I don’t know, maybe figuring it out with the endless resources that we had in the gigantic Library downstairs!”

  “We’ve read through hundreds of those books—”

  “Dozens, maybe.”

  “Whatever. The point is we’ve gone through a lot already with no luck, and there are thousands more. It pretty much is endless. Who knows when we might find the right book in that Library?”

  “But this is dark magic, Charlie,” Lisa said, pleading. “The worst kind.”

  Charlie grabbed part of the book as she swung it around again, holding it still. “And Loch is under a dark curse. If anything, this is much more likely to have what we’re looking for. Nice and good and happy hunter books aren’t going to cut it right now.”

  Lisa slowly let go of the book and stepped back. The twins stared at Charlie, surprised at the anger in his voice.

  Charlie’s phone buzzed. “It’s Nash.”

  They waited while he read the text. Lisa cleared her throat, looking at the floor. “What’s up?” she asked in a small voice.

  “Darcy’s mom is looking for us. The entire Key was shaking, not just up here. Let’s go.”

  They managed to sneak through the dustier passages of Hunter’s Key, sticking to the parapet-lined rooftops to avoid running into Mrs. Witherington. They rushed into the Library—one place she had already checked but was going to check again, according to Nash and Darcy—and sat down at one of the reading tables on the third floor. They waited, hearts pumping furiously.

  Liev crumpled over the table. “We made it.”

  “So what exactly did I miss?” Nash pressed.

  “Just us almost falling off the Key’s tallest structure, finding a room of crazy, deadly artifacts, and generally risking our lives against the magical enchantments. Nothing much though. You would have been bored.”

  Charlie pulled the diary out from under the table, causing Darcy to gasp. Nash sat back, running a hand through his hair.

  “Oh, yeah,” said Liev. “There’s that, too.”

  “What are you doing with the Dark Prince’s diary?” asked Nash. “I thought Loch hid that thing away with the varcolac.”

  Charlie looked at his friend seriously. “He did. We found it.”

  Darcy leaned over, worried. “But why, Charlie? You know how dangerous this is.”

  “He thinks it can save Loch,” said Lisa. Her tone and expression told them clearly she was not in defense of this idea.

  Nash hesitated. “How?”

  Charlie sighed, briefly telling Nash and Darcy the same thing he had told the twins upstairs. “Besides, I saw it in a vision from Loch. He approves.” He tugged at the corner of the book, nervous, finally throwing open the cover to their dismay. “Might as well read it while we’re waiting.”

  “Read what?” asked Mrs. Witherington, ascending a flight of side stairs. Her face was etched with shadows, her demeanor dark. “And while you’re waiting on what?”

  The teenagers sat there, stumped. Charlie resisted the urge to throw the other books over the top of the red cover.

  “Well?” she pressed.

  “Waiting on you,” interjected Liev, a specialist when it came to sliding past teacher’s suspicions. Or at least avoiding them. “We didn’t want to interrupt. Or be around. Those guys didn’t look too friendly.”

  Mrs. Witherington crossed her arms, walking over to their table. “Uh-huh. What are you five reading?”

  “Just some research,” Lisa said, expertly flipping through some books with a nonchalant shrug. Charlie noticed she left the pages open, obscuring the varcolac’s diary. “Still trying to find something to help Loch.”

  “Did you kids feel that tremor run through the house?”

  Liev’s eyes grew wide. He looked like an innocent kitten. “Yes! That was pretty crazy. I didn’t think we got earthquakes in Hunter’s Grove.”

  “Right.” Elizabeth crossed her arms, much in the way Darcy did. “Well, it’s getting late. I would rather you all aren’t here alone with the council members.”

  “We’ll wrap it up soon,” said Charlie.

  “See that you do. Come on, Darcy.”

  “Almost done, Mom.”

  Elizabeth’s look said that she was done, now, and Darcy resisted the urge to argue. It was unlike her mother—she used to be the “cool” mom who made everyone stay together late and brought them pizza instead of salads and smoothies after a training session. Maybe it was just the light, but in that moment she looked terrifying.

  “See you tomorrow, Darcy,” Nash said with a smile. She gave him a look of disbelief, but he was trying to keep Elizabeth from getting any scarier, and trying as well to keep Darcy out of trouble. Darcy stood and told the group goodnight in a huff, following her mother.

  They watched her walk away and down the stairs, not daring to let out a sigh of relief for several minutes, until they were sure Elizabeth wasn’t coming back.

  “You guys are good,” said Nash. “I don’t think I could have worked my way out of that.”

  Liev stood up. “What can I say? We’re naturals when it comes to trouble.”

  “You’re a natural when it comes to getting into trouble,” muttered Lisa.

  “As if you mind.”

  Nash stood as well, stretching his arms. “That’s enough close calls for me tonight. I’m gonna get a head start if I’m trekking home on foot. See you all in the morning.”

  “Spokoynoy nochi.”

  Lisa pushed at the diary with a stretched-out finger. “Where do we keep this?”

  “I’ll take it,” said Charlie. In truth, he didn’t want to take the book home with him. But they couldn’t leave it unprotected at the Key, and he didn’t want the others to have it near their families—this was his choice, his responsibility. “Maybe I can find something tonight and we can help Loch tomorrow.”

  She gave him a tired thumbs-up. Her eyes flicked toward Liev and back. “Well. See you later.”

  “Yeah,” said Charlie. “See ya.”

  Liev rolled his eyes. He wondered if either his sister or Charlie actually realized that everyone knew they liked each other. Including each other. “Later Charlie,” he said, turning and walking off.

  Lisa waved and followed her brother, leaving Charlie with the Dark Prince’s diary. The open pages stared at him, blank. He closed it, finding himself staring at the wolfish face on the cover and was starting to feel uneasy about taking it home with him, al
ready having had his fair share of experiences with this book.

  The Key groaned once more, and Charlie heard what sounded like thunder in the distance.

  Jogging two steps at a time up the Library stairs so he wouldn’t have to think too much while alone, Charlie exited via the rooftop of the Key, heading once more to the Main Attic. The room was getting dark as the sun neared its daily end, and from the middle staircase, a soft howl moaned from a wind that wasn’t there.

  Charlie rubbed the goosebumps on his arm and went downstairs, stopping in to visit Loch’s room. He stood in the doorway for a moment, and then headed for the front door. He felt eyes on him from the parlor room, but didn’t turn around to meet them, instead fleeing into the courtyard. The others already gone, Charlie tucked the poisonous diary under his arm and began his long walk home, alone.

  Moments later, a pair of feet crept up the Main Lobby stairs, through the attic, and into the stairwell leading to the center tower. The floorboards creaked and shifted, but the figure gave a powerful, nonverbal command and Hunter’s Key fell silent.

  Chapter 8

  Nash slid his tray onto the table. “So what was it like last night?”

  Lisa and Liev watched Charlie carefully as their friend leaned on his elbow, eyes drifting. Any moment now, his hand would slip and his face would fall into his so-called peach gelatin cube. A couple of seats away, Lisa tossed a balled napkin at Charlie, causing him to jump.

  “Whatsit?” he mumbled.

  “The Tower. What was up there?” Nash asked again, huddling in, a big grin on his face. “You gonna eat that dessert?”

  “Go ahead,” said Charlie, pushing his tray Nash’s way.

  Liev flashed a devious smile. “So much cool stuff,” he said, while Lisa was saying, “Dangerous things.”

  “Did you find what you were looking for in the diary?” Darcy asked Charlie.

  A tug at his gut made him think twice about telling them anything. He hadn’t seen any sign of Donnie that day, but school was not a safe place to divulge secrets.

  “I’d rather not talk about it here. I’ll show you when we get to the Key.”

  And that’s when they saw him. Walking through the lunch tables like a wolf might stride through trees, the tall man in black by his side. Liev bristled, keeping his mouth closed so as not to reveal his lengthening canines. He felt the urge to reveal them to Donnie, in his neck.

  “Late night, huh Sullivan?” Donnie commented as he passed by.

  Nash’s eyes flashed an angry storm. “I can’t wait until we shut him up.”

  “Let’s just go in through the Library,” said Charlie. He adjusted the backpack on his shoulder, thinking about the diary he was carrying. “It’ll be quicker, plus, I would rather avoid having to meet any new council members until we absolutely have to.”

  Nash and Liev muttered their agreements as Darcy answered her buzzing phone. “It’s my mom,” she said. “She wants us to meet her in the parlor.”

  Liev groaned. “I’m beginning to dislike the parlor. If I blow it up, where do you think she would have us meet?”

  With Charlie’s idea tossed firmly out the window, they pushed through the front doors of the Key.

  Hearing the group come in, Mrs. Witherington poked her head from the parlor. She looked tired, and her smile was weary, but it was the first time any of them, including Darcy, had seen her smile in the past few days. She almost looked rested, too. “Come on in, guys. There is someone here I want you to meet.”

  Nervous, but feeling safer now, they walked over together. A girl with white-blonde hair was sitting at the table, flanked by two men in tuxedos. “Hello, everyone,” Aisling said with a huge smile.

  Darcy squealed, rounding the table to give their friend from across the sea a giant hug. Aisling returned Darcy’s hug, then Nash’s and Lisa’s. Liev kissed her hand, causing her to blush again. Charlie waved awkwardly from across the table.

  “Hi.”

  She smiled at him, coming from around the table to give him a hug as well. She wouldn’t accept a simple wave after all they’d been through as a team. He patted her on the back.

  “So,” said Lisa, verbally breaking them up. “What brings you to this side of the Atlantic?”

  “The council meeting, of course.”

  Charlie looked at Darcy and Lisa. The girls usually knew stuff like this that he didn’t. Right now, though, they looked as surprised as he did.

  “Didn’t you know?” asked Aisling.

  “Aisling has taken over the guardianship of the portal city Drakauragh,” Elizabeth explained. “That position comes with a chair on the council.”

  “So, wait. You’re a council member?” asked Charlie.

  Aisling nodded, smiling. “That I am.”

  “Mom,” said Darcy, “you were a guardian of the portal in Hunter’s Grove. Doesn’t that make you a member?”

  “It’s a bit complicated, since Loch had taken my place, and now I’ve taken his again, but yes.”

  “You’re on the council? Why didn’t you tell us that from the beginning?”

  Her mother leaned against the back of a red and white couch. “Sorry dear. Slipped my mind. It’s been a long week. No, it’s been several long months ... years.”

  Nobody could argue with that. Before this business with Chen and the council coming to town—before Drakauragh, even—she had been held in a frozen state of existence in the Otherworld for two years.

  “Why don’t you all relax and catch up with each other? I’ve got to get some work done,” she continued. “The last council member is supposed to arrive tonight. Tomorrow is the meeting.”

  The room felt stiff as she said it. The moment that would decide whether they were officially members of the global monster hunting society, or rejected back to being normal students carrying on with their school year as though nothing had happened was nearly upon them. But how could one simply go back to a normal life after all that they’d seen and done, and with what they knew still needed to be done?

  “With everything else going on this week, they couldn’t hold the meeting off for a few days?” Liev whispered in complaint after Elizabeth walked out of the room.

  Charlie fidgeted with his hands in his pockets. “Have you met the other council members?” he asked Aisling.

  “Not yet. I’m a little nervous, to be honest.”

  “They’re a bright and happy bunch,” Nash said, deadpan.

  “Speaking of meeting people,” she said, turning to walk next to the two men in black suits, “I should introduce you all to Quinn and Connor. Quinn, Connor, this is Darcy, Lisa, Nash, Charlie, and Liev.”

  Quinn, a striking redhead, nodded politely, while Connor flashed a warm smile and waved to all of them in turn. When Aisling introduced Liev, the two men dipped their heads, as if bowing, and stood like that for seconds before standing straight again. Liev watched them carefully, and even sniffed the air in front of them.

  He looked at Aisling, then at Quinn and Connor. “Are they ... are you ... ?”

  Quinn nodded calmly. “Yes, we are.”

  “That’s awesome! But why bring them? No offense guys, I’m actually really happy to see you both.”

  “They’re my bodyguards,” said Aisling.

  “Bodyguards?” asked Charlie, alarmed.

  “It’s a long story.”

  Nash clapped Liev on the shoulder. “You guys want to let the rest of us in on the secret?”

  Liev turned to Nash, a big grin on his face. “They are faoladh. Like me.”

  “We followed you in Drakauragh. Although we might be oceans apart right now, you are still our Alpha,” said Quinn.

  “That’s awesome, too.”

  Connor smirked. “It is.”

  “Best to keep this to a mum, of course,” said Aisling. “We don’t know how the rest of the council will feel about that.”

  Charlie looked at the parlor door, feeling like they were being watched again. Maybe it was nervousness, but then
, there were more eyes coming and going from Hunter’s Key lately. “Hey, Aisling, have you had a tour of the Key yet?”

  She beamed. “I haven’t!”

  “Let’s give her the grand tour.”

  They made small talk as they started a tour in the East Wing, skipping the trip up to the East Wing Tower—Charlie, Lisa, and Liev had had enough of towers for the moment. The group rambled to her about the boring life of school and living in a small town, and she regaled them with tales of bringing Drakauragh up to the speed of modern day—or at least making life a little easier for the village residents. Charlie used his Sight to survey their surroundings whenever the others were not able to see his eyes. He didn’t trust that they were not alone.

  “So much history,” Aisling whispered, brushing past a cluttered room filled with old boxes and trunks. Lisa perked up.

  “Have you read up on the Key?”

  Aisling smiled. “You could say that. Hunter’s Key, built in 1802 as a construct to lock down one of the last great portals to be discovered and presided over by hunters. Ordered and built by the council, and masterminded by John Dervish, who was one of the greatest artificers in hunter history, and your some-odd-great grandfather on your mum’s side, Darcy.”

  “My great grandfather?” Darcy asked, surprised.

  “No, your great, great, great ... I forget how many greats, actually. But your relative, yeah. Didn’t you ever wonder why your mum was guardian, here?”

  “That’s amazing. I always knew I was important!”

  The others looked at her balefully.

  “What?”

  “It sounds like you’ve been doing your research,” Lisa told Aisling. “I didn’t even know that. I haven’t come across it in any of the books here.”

  “Well, much of the council was wiped out after the Key was built, taken prisoner by the Dark Prince. Only a few hunters that didn’t enter the Otherworld survived to tell the tale. But yeah, I’ve had to learn a lot recently. Since my grandmum died ...” Her smile faltered. “Marcus brought a lot of my grandmum’s duties to my attention. I never realized just how much she had on her shoulders. I knew I would have to meet the other council members soon, so I wanted to know what was expected of me. I never imagined it would be this soon, or for this purpose.”